Printing press roll supporting and adjusting means



Sept. 8, 1964 R. E. MARTIN 3,147,702

PRINTING PRESS ROLL SUPPORTING AND ADJUSTING MEANS Original Filed Oct. 1, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. RALPH E. AW/N Sept. 8, 1964 R MARTlN 3,147,702

PRINTING PREbS ROLL SUPPORTING AND ADJUSTING MEANS Original Filed Oct. 1, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,147,762 PTING PRESS ROLL SUPPORTING AND ADEUSTENG MEANS Ralph E. Martin, Fort Worth, Tex assignor to Ciary Corporation, San Gabriel, Calif., a corporation of California Original application Get. 1, i962, Ser. No. 227,219. Di-

vided and this application May 26, 1963, Ser. No.

4 Claims. (Cl. 101-248) This invention relates to improvements in rotary printing presses having either rubber or offset plate type printing or plate cylinders.

In a press of this type it is desirable to have means which allow an operator to quickly and easily remove and replace the printing cylinders and thereby prevent excessive down time of the press.

Many of the presses of the prior art require removal of the printing cylinders endwise through openings in the side frames which means partial dismantling of one or more side frames as well as time consuming adjustment and alignment of such cylinders.

Therefore a principal object of the present invention is to provide a means for enabling quick and ready removal and replacement of a printing cylinder in a printing press.

Another object is to eliminate need for readjusting and realigning a printing cylinder each time it is replaced in a printing press.

Another object is to facilitate removal and replacement of printing cylinders.

Another object is to utilize fluid pressure to maintain a printing cylinder in operating position.

The manner in which the above and other objects of the invention are to be accomplished will be readily understood on reference to the following specification when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side sectional elevation view of part of a continuous web printing press, with parts broken away, embodying a preferred form of the invention and showing the relative positions of the various cylinders and rollers when the press is operating.

FIG. 2 is an end view of the air cylinder for maintaining the plate cylinder in position and is taken along the line 22 of FIG. 4.

FIG, 3 is a schematic view of the air pressure control system.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged transverse sectional view showing the transfer roller and printing cylinder and is taken along the line 44 of FIG. 1.

This invention is a division of my copending application Serial No. 227,219, filed on October 1, 1962, for Printing Press.

The press is comprised of a pair of side frames 11 and 12, FIG. 4, having arranged therein an array of rollers and cylinders rotatably mounted therebetween, FIG. 1.

An upper group of rollers is provided for distributing ink to a plate or printing cylinder 13, and comprises a vibrator type ink transfer roll 28 which receives ink on its surface from a suitable ink supply, not shown. The roll 28 is fixed on a continuously rotating shaft 29 to transfer ink to a pair of form rollers 31 and 32 which are supported at opposite ends by rockable supports 33 and 34, respectively.

The supports 33 and 34 are rockably supported for movement about the axis of the transfer roll shaft 29.

The supports 33 and 34 are shown in FIG. 1 as being held in their downward or operative positions for engaging the form rollers 31 and 32 in rolling contact with the plate cylinder 13 during operation of the press.

A lower group of rollers is provided for distributing water to the plate cylinder 13 and comprises a water fountain roller 35 rotatably mounted in bearings in the side frames and cooperating with a water tray 36 to transfer a film of water to a water vibrator type transfer roll 37 through a ductor roll 38 of conventional construction.

The vibrator roll 37 is mounted on a continuously rotating shaft 40 and is in rolling engagement with a Water form roller 39.

The form roller 39 is mounted at opposite ends thereof on a pair of support arms 41 which are pivotally supported for movement about the axis of shaft 40 and are shown in FIG. 1 in their forward or operative positions whereby the roller 39 is held in rolling engagement with said plate cylinder 13.

The plate cylinder 13, which is in continuous rolling engagement with a blanket cylinder 42 during operation of the press, transfers ink images onto the periphery of the blanket cylinder so that as the latter cylinder rotates, an impression roller 43 which rotates at the same peripheral speed and tangent thereto will press a continuous strip of paper 44 against the cylinder 42 thereby transferring the ink images from the blanket cylinder to the paper.

The press is started by manually closing a main switch 54 (FIG. 7) to complete a circuit to the press drive motor 121 and to a 3-way solenoid operated valve 128 of any well known type. The latter is connected by way of a fluid conduit 169 and pressure regulator 127 to an air supply 161. The valve is connected by a second conduit 162 to one end of an air operated cylinder 55 having a piston therein operatively connected to mechanism (not shown) for rocking the form roller supports 33, 34 and 41. When the switch 54 is closed the valve 128 communicates the interior of the cylinder 55 with the atmosphere permitting the form rollers to be moved into rolling engagement with the plate cylinder, as illustrated in FIG. 1, by suitable springs (not shown) so that the form rollers can be actuated manually. However, when the switch 54 is opened to stop the press the valve communicates the interior of the cylinder with the air supply, causing its piston to release the form rollers from engagement with the cylinder 13.

The plate cylinder support means is illustrated in FIG. 4 wherein an air chamber 84 is rigidly mounted in the side frame 11 in axial alignment with the cylinder 13 and end thereof which seats against a suitable seal mounted of a cylinder 85 having a cap 86 threaded on the outer end thereof which seats against a sutiable seal mounted in the cylinder.

Siideably mounted in the cylinder 85 and axially aligned therewith is a piston 87 having an axially aligned recess 80 therein for rotatably supporting, through bearings 89 and 91, a live center spindle or cylinder support 92. The spindle is formed with a frusto-conical tip 93 at its supporting end which seats in a mating surface in a bearing block 94 recessed in the end of the cylinder and concentric therewith.

The opposite end of the cylinder is supported by a driving live center spindle or cylinder support 95 rotatably supported in a pair of bearings 96 and 97 mounted in a cylindrical housing 98. The latter is slideable axially a limited amount in a cylindrical bearing sleeve 99 secured in the side frame 12, but is prevented from rotating by a key interconnecting the housing 98 and sleeve 99 with the frame 12. 1

. The spindle 95 also has its supporting end formed into a frusto-conical tip which seats against a mating surface 1&5 in a bearing block 206 located in a recess in the end of the cylinder 13 and concentric therewith.

Inst behind the seating surface of the spindle 95 is a 3 collar 1106 which prevents the support from slipping out of the bearings 96 and 97. The collar carries a key 107 which mates with a slot 108 in the cylinder 13 to provide a positive drive connection between the support and cylinder.

The piston 87 has rigidly mounted thereon an extension 109 which projects an opening in through the cap 86 to rigidly support a cross head 112 (see also FIG. 2). The latter has holes on opposite ends thereof which slide over studs 115 and 116, mounted in the side frame 11.

Compression springs 117 and 118 surround respective studs 115 and 116 between the side frame 11 and the member 112, tending to move the member and piston outwardly to release the tip 93 from its socket so as to permit the cylinder 13 to be withdrawn from the press. However, normally air pressure applied within the cylinder, as will be described later, prevents outward movement of the piston by the springs 117 and 118.

The spindle 95 extends outside the side frame 12 and has mounted thereon a gear 119 that is continuously driven through a gear train (not shown) when the press is in operation, the gear train being driven by the motor 121 (FIG. 3). The gear train does not form any part of' the present invention, and is omitted for the sake of brevity.

For axially adjusting the cylinder 13, there is provided a gear 122 mounted on a shaft 123 rotatably mounted in bushings 124 in respective frames 11 and 12. At the opposite end of the shaft is mounted a suitable hand operated ratchet mechanism 125.

A hollow gear 101 meshes with gear 122. Screw threads 103 on an inner peripheral surface of the gear 101 thread onto a mating set of threads on the surface of an outwardly projecting portion of the housing 98. The gear is held to the frame 12 by guide brackets 126 (only one shown), which allow the gear to rotate but prevent axial movement thereof. Thus, by rotating the shaft 123 in an appropriate direction the spindle 95 can be adjusted axially in either direction.

Air under pressure is applied through a flexible conduit 150 (FIGS. 4 and 3) from the pressure regulator 127 to the interior of the cylinder 85 to provide a constant end thrust against the spindle 92 regardless of the axially adjusted position of the plate cylinder. It will be noted that the conduit 150 is attached to a fitting 170 on the extension 109, which extension has a passage 171 therein opening into the interior of the cylinder.

In order to prevent accidental release of the plate cylinder 13 in the event the supply of air should fail, a latch 131 is provided, the latch being pivotally supported on the cross head 112 and spring urged by a compression spring 132 to locate a latching shoulder 133 over a lip 134 of the cap 86. Normally, when air pressure is applied, the latching shoulder 133 is spaced slightly from the lip 134 to hold the plate cylinder snugly on its bearings but if the air supply should be cut off the resultant slight leftward movement of the spindle 92 until the latch engages the end cap 86 would be insufiicient to completely release the plate cylinder.

When it is desired to remove the cylinder 13, the operator first stops the press and cuts off the air supply to the cylinder 85, as by closing a valve 173 in the air supply conduit 150. Then, by suitable means (not shown) he rocks the roller supports 33 clockwise sufi'iciently to provide a space for removal of the plate cylinder laterally between the roller 31 and the roller 39.

The operator then releases the latch 131 from the lip 134, allowing the springs 117 and 118 to fully retract the piston 87 and spindle 92, releasing the cylinder 13 for removal laterally between the frames.

To install a new cylinder, the operator inserts such cylinder through the opening between the rollers 31. and 39, positioning the drive end of the cylinder on the spindle 95 after aligning the slot 108 with the key 107. The bearing surface 90 on the opposite end of the cylinder is then aligned approximately with the spindle 92. While holding the cylinder in this position with one hand, the operator pushes the cross head 112 inwardly with his other hand against the action of the springs 117 and 118 until the latch catches on the lip 134 which loosely positions the spindle in the bearing 94. Upon admitting .air under pressure to the cylinder the plate cylinder will be accurately aligned and proper bearing pressure applied without any adjustment required.

It can be seen that the conical shapes of the spindle and their mating bearing surfaces, along with the axial adjusting means therefor, provides a simple and accurate aligning means which obviates the need for adjustment each time the plate cylinder is replaced. Also, since the air pressure can be readily held at a constant value a constant and optimum loading can be applied to the cylinder bearings regardless of the axial adjustment of the cylinder 13 by the means including gear 101. Further, such loading will be maintained constant even during the axial adjustment of the cylinder.

Means are provided to automatically stop the press in the event the supply of air to the cylinder 85 drops to a point where the piston 87 can no longer safely cause the spindle 92 to hold the plate cylinder 13 in proper alignment. For this purpose, a pressure operated switch 174 (FIG. 7) of conventional construction is attached to the conduit and has its electrical circuit 175 connected to an actuating solenoid 176 associated with the main switch 54. Thus, if the switch 54- is closed and the air pressure drops in the conduit causes closing of the switch 174 a circuit will be completed through the soleacid 176 to open the switch 54.

Although the invention is described in detail in its preferred embodiment and therefore certain specific terms and languages are used herein, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is illustrative rather than restrictive and that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims appended hereto.

Having thus described the invention, what is desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A printing press comprising spaced side frames, a plate cylinder having annular bearing surfaces at opposite ends thereof, rotatable cylinder supports mounted in hearings in said side frames and engageable with said bearing surfaces, a member interconnecting one of said supports and said cylinder for rotating said cylinder, a chamber in one of said side frames, said chamber being axially aligned with one of said supports, a piston in said chamber operatively connected to said last mentioned support, said piston being movable in said chamber to cause said last mentioned support to release or support said cylinder, a fluid supply means for applying fluid to said chamber for actuating said piston to cause said supports to support said cylinder, means to release said fluid from said chamber, spring means tending to actuate said piston to cause said supports to release said cylinder, and manually releasable means for normally preventing release of said cylinder by said supports upon release of fluid from said chamber.

2. A printing press comprising spaced side frames, a printing cylinder having conical bearing surfaces at opposite ends thereof, cylinder supports rotatably mounted in bearings in said side frames and engageable with said conical bearing surfaces, a member interconnecting one of said supports and said cylinder for rotating said cylinder, means for rotating said last mentioned support, a chamber on one of said side frames, said chamber being axially aligned with one of said supports, a piston in said chamber operatively connected to said last mentioned support, said piston being movable in said chamber to cause said last mentioned support to release or support said cylinder, a fluid supply means for yieldably applying fluid to said chamber for actuating said piston to cause said supports to support said cylinder, means to release said fluid from said chamber, spring means tending to actuate said piston to cause said supports to release said cylinder, and a manually releasable latching means normally preventing release of said cylinder by said supports upon release of fluid from said chamber.

3. A printing press comprising a pair of spaced side frames, a plate cylinder having conical bearing surfaces at opposite ends thereof and concentric therewith, aligned supports rotatably mounted in bearings in said side frames, said supports having conical bearing surfaces engageable with mating ones of said first mentioned conical bearing surfaces for supporting said cylinder, at fluid chamber on one of said side frames and axially aligned with said cylinder, a piston in said chamber for moving a first one of said supports axially of said cylinder to cause said mating bearing surfaces to release or support said cylinder, fluid supply means for yieldably applying fluid to said chamber whereby to cause said piston to move said first support toward said cylinder to cause said mating conical bearing surfaces to support said cylinder, and manually operable means for adjusting a second one of said supports axially of said cylinder whereby to axially adjust said cylinder.

4. A printing press comprising a pair of spaced side frames, a plate cylinder having conical bearing surfaces at opposite ends thereof, a bearing in one of said side frames, a first cylinder support rotatably mounted in said bearing, said support having a conical tip engageable with a mating one of said conical bearing surfaces for supporting one end of said cylinder, a fluid cylinder on the other of said side frames, a piston in said fluid cylinder, a second bearing supported by said piston, a second cylinder support rotatably mounted in said second bearing, said second support having a conical tip engageable with the other mating one of said conical bearing surfaces for supporting the other end of said plate cylinder, said piston being effective to move said second support axially of said plate cylinder, yieldable fluid supply means for supplying fluid to said cylinder for actuating said piston toward said plate cylinder whereby to support said plate cylinder, and manually operable means for axially adjusting the said bearing for said first cylinder support whereby to cause said first support to axially adjust said plate cylinder.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,378,305 Wood et al May 17, 1921 1,737,378 Littel Nov. 26, 1929 2,460,504 Huebner Feb. 1, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3 147,702 September 8 1964 Ralph E. Martin It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected be1o Column 2, line 47, for "end thereof which seats against a suitable seal mounted" read projects outwardly thereof. The chamber is comprised column 4, line 30, for "drops" read drop Signed and sealed this 13th day of April 1965,

(SEAL) Auest:

ERNEST w. SWIDER' EDWARD J. BRENNER Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 7 t 1 

1. A PRINTING PRESS COMPRISING SPACED SIDE FRAMES, A PLATE CYLINDER HAVING ANNULAR BEARING SURFACES AT OPPOSITE ENDS THEREOF, ROTATABLE CYLINDER SUPPORTS MOUNTED IN BEARINGS IN SAID SIDE FRAMES AND ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID BEARING SURFACES, A MEMBER INTERCONNECTING ONE OF SAID SUPPORTS AND SAID CYLINDER FOR ROTATING SAID CYLINDER, A CHAMBER IN ONE OF SAID SIDE FRAMES, SAID CHAMBER BEING AXIALLY ALIGNED WITH ONE OF SAID SUPPORTS, A PISTON IN SAID CHAMBER OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID LAST MENTIONED SUPPORT, SAID PISTON BEING MOVABLE IN SAID CHAMBER TO CAUSE SAID LAST MENTIONED SUPPORT TO RELEASE OR SUPPORT SAID CYLINDER, A FLUID SUPPLY MEANS FOR APPLYING FLUID TO SAID CHAMBER FOR ACTUATING SAID PISTON TO CAUSE SAID SUPPORTS TO SUPPORT SAID CYLINDER, MEANS TO RELEASE SAID FLUID FROM SAID CHAMBER, SPRING MEANS TENDING TO ACTUATE SAID PISTON TO CAUSE SAID SUPPORTS TO RELEASE SAID CYLINDER, AND MANUALLY RELEASABLE MEANS FOR NORMALLY PREVENTING RELEASE OF SAID CYLINDER BY SAID SUPPORTS UPON RELEASE OF FLUID FROM SAID CHAMBER. 